{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/b2fb5f0b-0ce7-4e5c-b6e0-9b1febd06aea/67be0ec32dbc20e82c51a026?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Who is Alice Weidel, the unlikely leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party?","description":"<p>She’s been described as the politician of contradictions.</p><p><br></p><p>Alice Weidel is the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party but is married to a Sri-Lankan born woman.A gay woman, she has two children with her partner, but is part of a political party which defines family as a father and mother raising children.</p><p>She’s a German nationalist who spends most of her time living in a small town in central Switzerland.</p><p><br></p><p>She has been described as the “respectable” and more moderate face of party that has been linked to neo-Nazis and plots to overthrow the German state.</p><p><br></p><p>While the AfD didn’t win Germany’s federal election last weekend, the party is now the second largest in the country, having doubled its vote share in just four years.</p><p><br></p><p>How did Weidel break the AfD into Germany’s mainstream political area and rally the support needed to secure more than 20 per cent of the vote in last weekend’s election?</p><p>And what is it about this Swiss-based ex-banker that appeals to the German people?</p><p><br></p><p>New York Times reporter Christopher Schuetze, who covers politics from Berlin, joins the podcast.</p><p><br></p><p>Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Suzanne Brennan.</p><p><br></p>","author_name":"The Irish Times"}